A UK university is offering free iPhone loans to its fourth and fifth year medical students, report claims.

Leeds University is issuing iPhone 3GS models to students in a new educational initiative within the Department of Medicine. The devices sill be used to complete assessments and to access course materials, TechRadar informs.

“This will be the first time that a UK medical school has provided undergraduates with all the tools they need to study off-campus via mobile phone technology,” the release claims.

The University points out that provision of tools for distance learning for the students makes sense because in the fourth or fifth years students spend extensive time off site, working in hospitals and health clinics. This makes it difficult to maintain regular contact with tutors.

“Copies of key medical textbooks and reference works, including up-to-date guidelines on administering prescription drugs, will also be distributed as iPhone apps. A range of other relevant medical apps that can be downloaded free-of-charge or purchased will be provided too.”

“This is a fantastic scheme and one that Leeds should be proud of. By equipping our students with smartphones, we are putting a whole suite of training tools and educational resources in the palm of their hand,” said Professor David Cottrell, Dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Leeds.